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Paying the price for reading about the implications of modern medicine on natural selection and human survival all day yesterday instead of getting work done. Got my hands full.
 
So I'm translating a crisis management document of a shopping mall from Turkish to English. It lays out a press release for accidents resulting in casualties. One was an elevator accident in which the person working on maintenance passed away. So it says (in Turkish) "We regretfully inform you that xxx, who was in the elevator at the time of the incident, has.."

At this point I'm supposed to use something that describes death. As a joke, I put "kicked the bucket". So the initial translation was "We regretfully inform you that xxx, who was in the elevator at the time of the incident, has kicked the bucket."

I sensed instantly that a laughing fit was incoming and I inadvertently let out a quiet laugh, though co-workers didn't notice. I ran straight to the restroom and went into a laughing fit for 10 minutes. I almost went into it again writing about it here.

Worry not, I did change it to "has passed away" afterwards.
 
"We regretfully inform you that xxx, who was in the elevator at the time of the incident, has passed on. This man is no more. He has ceased to be. Bereft of life, he rests in peace. If it weren't for the elevator ceiling he'd be pushing up daisies. He's joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-Turk!"
 
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